Comments on: In Which I Flaunt That Whole Ivy-League Thing Some More; or, Thoughts on the Eating Club System

By: Emily

Emily — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 13:15:35 +0000

That’s a wonderful question that deserves some consideration! I think you’re absolutely right that the university hasn’t focused on the eating clubs as daytime spaces nearly enough. And I think part of the reason is that they really do transform at night–partly due to circumstances outside our control, like the high drinking age, which really changes how people–especially underage people–perceive nighttime partying.

I anticipate having a social experience next year in a four-year college, but I do wish that more of my friends were staying in the colleges. I never see anymore a lot of people whom I used to see every day because we lived in the same college and ate meals together. If I were to be really selfish, I’d say that everyone should be made to stay in college for four years, the way they do at Yale, but I realize this isn’t a possible change for Princeton right now, nor do I actually want to dictate the lives of people who find the clubs enjoyable and fulfilling, during the day or night.

I’ve eaten lunch in Terrace a couple times, and it seems to be not significantly different from eating lunch in the dining hall. So I don’t think I’m missing much, but I wish my friends wouldn’t scatter to the wind and leave me behind in college. I want to stay in the college system, I really do, but sometimes I feel as if I see less of my upperclass friends than I do of my friends who have graduated.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 07:23:02 +0000

Do you think there is a difference in how underclassmen and upperclassmen experience the eating clubs? That is, does the eating club change as a social scene when one becomes a member?
I was thinking that maybe the University is focusing mostly on the night life, when in fact the eating clubs are exclusive spaces during the daytime and weekdays. I think it means a lot that many upperclassmen go to the eating clubs just to hang out during the day. What’s the significance of this to students who go independent or stay in residential colleges? Are they left out not just of the visible aspects of the Street, but also the entire social experience of their later two years at the University?

By: Alex

Alex — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 07:50:36 +0000

Infinite and never-ending solidarity for your decision not to join a club. I joined Terrace my sophomore year because, well, that’s where the “alternative” people go, and had a really isolating experience for a few months and then dropped out. Really, most of the benefits of the street can be accessed without actually joining a club and/or supporting a system that leads a solid quarter of Princeton’s population – as you so eloquently put it – spending Spring Break wondering why they weren’t good enough.